| Any Shape You Take | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 27, 2021 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | Saddle Creek | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Indigo De Souza chronology | ||||
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Any Shape You Take is the second album by North Carolina-based singer Indigo De Souza. It was released on August 27, 2021, by Saddle Creek Records. [1] [2] It was recorded with Brad Cook, who has worked alongside musicians like Liz Phair, Bon Iver, and Waxahatchee. [3]
Any Shape You Take's "hooky, jagged" indie rock songs have been described collectively as a "masterwork" of the genre. [4] [5] And for being "steeped in alternative '90s goodness", it has been compared to works by bands such as the Breeders and Dinosaur Jr. [6] Meanwhile, the album's grunge-influenced rock tracks have been regarded as a "masterful slice of grunge pop". [7] [8]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 8.2/10 [9] |
| Metacritic | 84/100 [10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| The A.V. Club | A− [5] |
| Gigwise | 10/10 [11] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 9/10 [12] |
| Loud and Quiet | 7/10 [13] |
| NME | [8] |
| Paste | 8.6/10 [14] |
| Pitchfork | 8.3/10 [15] |
| The Skinny | [7] |
| Uncut | 8/10 [6] |
Any Shape You Take received critical acclaim. On Metacritic, it holds a score of 84 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim", based on fifteen reviews. [10]
Alex McLevy for The A.V. Club applauded the record, seeing it as "ferocious and vulnerable in equal measure" and "one of the year's best." [5] Jason Anderson for Uncut called De Souza's songs "as jagged as they are exuberant." [6] Gigwise saw the album as imbuing "existentialism in an intricately crafted mixture of melancholy joy." [11] The Line of Best Fit dubbed De Souza's songwriting as "unafraid of expressing (neither) the depths nor the heights of a life lived with supreme sensitivity." [12]
| Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paste | The 50 Best Albums of 2021 | 25 | |
| Pitchfork | |||
| The 31 Best Rock Albums of 2021 | — |
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